Illiterate Kajiado men asked to enroll in adult classes

Kajiado,

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

KNA by Rop Janet

Uneducated men in Kajiado County have been challenged to enroll in adult literacy classes to gain knowledge they missed during their youth.

According to the County Adult and Continuing Education Officer Mercy Njiriri, fewer men compared to women were enrolling for the classes due to their lifestyle and varied cultural beliefs and norms.

Njiriri revealed that the nomadic lifestyle of the Maasai Community made it hard for the men to enroll in classes as they moved from one place to another in search of water and pasture for their animals.

“We have very few men enrolling for the adult education classes compared to women as they are mostly pastoralists. The men keep moving from one place to another with their animals making learning almost impossible,” she said.

Speaking at Osiligi Adult Education Centre, the officer added that cultural beliefs have also hindered the men from acquiring basic literacy skills.

She explained that a majority of men from the community say it is against their culture to mix and interact with women freely in public thus they shy away from the classes.

“Many uneducated men do not want to sit together with women in class. They say it’s against their culture to freely interact with women publicly. Others feel ashamed when they are outshone by women in class thus they keep off,” Njiriri added.

The officer urged the men to shun retrogressive beliefs and enroll for the classes, pointing out that apart from acquiring writing and reading skills, the adult learners are trained on business skills, family planning, civic education, agriculture and nutrition among others.

Njiriri called on local leaders, community elites and activists to sensitize men to shun some negative misconceptions and join hands with women in acquiring education.

She cited lack of teachers and classrooms as some of the major challenges facing the adult education sector.

Njiriri appealed the government to open up more adult education classes in the area and employ more teachers to cater to the high number of uneducated adults.

Daniel Tisike, a volunteer teacher at Osiligi centre revealed that out of the 76 adult education students in his class, none was male.

Tisike said there was a huge number of uneducated men in the area but none has enrolled for the classes due to the economic lifestyle of the community.

“We have many illiterate men but it is hard for them to enroll for classes as they are busy searching for pasture and water for their livestock," he said.

The volunteer teacher added that opening up of ‘men only’ classes in the area would encourage more men to enroll in the classes as they would feel more comfortable.

Courtesy; KNA